Holm House

Everyone knows that in the last decade, Cardiff has been transformed. Instead of being a city of grimy boozers and Friday night fights, it suddenly developed an air of sophistication, all luxury hotels, coffee shops and cocktail bars.

But even so, it comes as something of a surprise to find the South Wales style revolution has now even reached sleepy, seaside Penarth, a few miles down the coast. It has done so in the form of a glamorous spa hotel called Holm House.

The hotel is on Marine Parade, a strip once known as 'Millionaires' Row' and built a century ago with the profits made from piracy, smuggling and (more legitimately) merchant shipping. Much of the parade had since fallen into disrepair, but during the last decade this leafy street has become desirable again.

Built in 1926 (and once a nursing home), Holm House now has 14 bedrooms, a swimming pool, garden, restaurant and bar. Each room is named after a local area or island. We're staying in Flatholm , a suite with sloping roof, oak floors, white leather sofa and beautiful wallpaper. There are all the prerequisites of a modern boutique hotel too - Frette linen, fluffy towels, plasma TV and Jo Malone products. There's also a large copper bath standing in the middle of the bedroom, but best of all is the balcony, which overlooks the delightful gardens.

We peek into some other rooms, all of which are very distinct - with eclectic furniture and unusual wallpapers - while also all seeming to fit the decadent 1920s feel of the building.

The dining room overlooks the garden and the food was delicious - I had a superb chocolate orange dessert - although the cutlery was slightly odd. It looked snazzy but kept falling off the plates, creating an embarrassing clatter.

Holm House's other key attribute is its location. From here you can easily get out to stretch your legs along the Glamorgan Heritage Coast while Cardiff is a short taxi ride away if you want a lively night out. After dinner we ventured into town, and having persuaded a nice man at a local restaurant to put a bottle of wine in a bag for us, sat on the rocks and watched the waves roll in.

We liked: The staff were extremely helpful and friendly.

We didn't like: The TVs so large they overpowered some rooms, and the lack of mini bar.